Real estate investment and land asset management company Walton Global has announced the closing of a $100 million facility. Provided by affiliates of funds managed by Fortress Investment Group, the facility will be used in Walton’s Builder Land Financing (BLF) business line to purchase properties in flourishing areas.
“This is such an important transaction for Walton as we continue to support our home builder partners to address a housing shortage that will take years to fulfill,” says Bill Doherty, CEO of Walton Global. When discussions started with Fortress, Walton began identifying potential land acquisitions with a leading home builder. The first acquisition through the Fortress facility closed in May. La Playa, a $9.5 million development project in Hayward, California, will offer 47 new homes.
Doherty adds: “It is our pleasure to be working with Fortress, a firm with decades of experience in the U.S. housing market and a deep understanding of the macro dynamics driving housing demand, which we believe will remain elevated even in the face of a potential economic slowdown. Our efforts will continue to promote affordable housing for consumers, while generating strong balance sheets and margins for our network of home builders.”
Seven acquisitions have been targeted in markets such as Phoenix and Seattle in order to deploy the remaining capital. The facility with Fortress mimics Walton’s Builder Identified Land Target (BILT) fund that was launched in early 2022. The BILT fund is currently offered to broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, and institutional and family office investors.
Walton’s new BLF program will offer solutions to land inventory needs by acquiring properties identified by builders and developers, concurrently entering into option agreements for the future purchase of lots in phases. “We are looking forward to creating many new communities in the years ahead working together with Fortress and best-in-class national and regional builders to place this capital in areas that will make a difference,” Doherty concludes.
